(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to bottle conveyor systems and apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for uprighting bottles which have been carried along on their sides on the conveyor of a bottle conveyor system.
(2) Prior Art
Most bottle conveyor systems include bottle orientation apparatus for uprighting bottles traveling on the conveyor to an upright position, that is, a position where the bottle is standing on its base. For the most part, when bottles are introduced on to the conveyor apparatus of a bottle conveyor system, the bottles are on their sides, some bottles proceeding along the conveyor in a neck leading position, others in a base leading position. Traditionally, such bottles have been oriented into a standing, upright position, with base down, in several ways.
One approach uses a ramp which engages a moving bottle and applies a torque in one direction to lift the neck of a neck leading bottle and applies a torque in the other direction to drop the base of a base leading bottle. Such bottle orientation system uses the same ramp to orient both neck leading and base leading bottles and a favorable elevation adjustment of the ramp for the orientation of neck leading bottles does not produce a favorable corresponding effect on the orientation of base leading bottles. Thus, a compromise of the elevation adjustment of the ramp is usually reached, reducing the efficiency of the conveyor system.
Another technique provides a trip in the path of a traveling bottle which engages the bottle. The trip cooperates with the moving belts which carry the bottles along. Torque in one direction is exerted on a base leading bottle and torque in the other direction is exerted on a neck leading bottle. With this system the same components are used to effect orientation by torque exerted in different directions so that any adjustment of these components must be a compromise, all with adverse effect on the efficiency of the apparatus.
Examples of conveyor systems which include bottle orientation apparatus can be found in United States Letters Patent, 4,457,421 and 2,316,654.
More advanced bottle stand up apparatus acts upon bottles carried on a conveyor, while lying on their sides, without regard to their neck leading or base leading orientation. The bottles are grasped and carried along by a pair of spaced, moving belts into the bottle stand up apparatus. The bottle stand up apparatus includes a pair of inclined, spaced ramps positioned in the path of the oncoming bottles, with a moving inclined belt positioned between the ramps. The neck of a neck leading bottle is driven by the spaced, moving belts through the space between the ramps, making contact with the moving belt. The moving, inclined belt, in coordination with the spaced belts, acts upon the neck of the bottle and orients the bottle to a standing position.
The space between the inclined ramps is such that the neck of a neck leading bottle will enter the space as the bottle enters the bottle stand up apparatus but the space is not sufficiently wide to permit passage of the base of a base leading bottle through such space.
A base leading bottle makes contact, at its base, with the upper surface of the spaced ramps, and in coordination with the side belts act upon the base of the bottle to orient the bottle to an upright, standing position.
Although the bottle stand up apparatus generally described above is an advancement in the art over the techniques formerly used, this apparatus appears to have an upper operational speed limitation not found in the present invention.